 |
On March 7, CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory: Expanding Measles Outbreak in the United States and Guidance for the Upcoming Travel Season. CDC issued this HAN to notify clinicians, public health officials, and potential travelers about a measles outbreak that originated in Texas and New Mexico and offer guidance for prevention and monitoring. A portion of the summary of the HAN appears below.
With spring and summer travel season approaching in the United States, CDC emphasizes the important role that clinicians and public health officials play in preventing the spread of measles through vaccination. They should be vigilant for cases of febrile rash illness that meet the measles case definition particularly in unvaccinated persons, and share effective measles prevention strategies, including vaccination guidance for international travelers.
To prevent measles infection and spread from imported cases, all U.S. residents should be up to date on their Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccinations, especially before traveling internationally, regardless of the destination.
Now is the time to ensure your team is prepared to educate your patients and the public about measles and measles vaccination, to recognize and respond to a suspected measles case, and to properly administer MMR to children and adults.
For Patients and the Public:
The best way to reduce your risk from seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is to get a flu vaccine every year. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of serious complications from flu.
CDC recommends everyone age 6 months and older get annual influenza vaccination. Given the high levels of circulating influenza across the country, vaccination remains important for all eligible, unvaccinated people.
Additional Resources:
|
We are excited to be making forward progress and working through our tiered implementation plan for the new VFC 800-WiFi Data Logger with Smart Probe.
Tier 1 provider group has received all data loggers and started the set-up process. All tier 1 providers now have until Monday, March 31, 2025, to complete the full set up.
Tier 2 data loggers have shipped and a reminder email with the information for the training date/time was sent to all assigned vaccine coordinators.
Tier 3 shipments will begin the first week in April. Emails have been sent to each provider site including which tier they are in and when to expect their shipment along with the training date/time with Control Solutions. Another reminder will be sent prior to shipments.
For those that may require additional support from Control Solutions, please be mindful of their time zone difference. They are located in Oregon and have a three-hour time difference behind Maine. Control Solutions has some great step-by-step guidance with screen shots available for the configuring of the device - Configure VFC800-WiFi | Control Solutions. Also available is the VFC800-QuickStartGuide providing additional information on the set up of the device. We encourage sites to utilize the resources available and if still unable to complete set-up, please email Control Solutions at support@vfcdataloggers.com or call 503-410-5996 for assistance.
Tier 1 Recording Available:
For those provider locations included in the Tier 1 implementation, the recorded training is now available. All Tier 1 vaccine coordinators have been emails the recording. Please reach out to MIP data logger email - mipdataloggers@maine.gov with any questions and or concerns.
"Join Team" Invite Request: You Have Been Invited to Join a Team
It is very important that if you have received this email, please accept it and “Join Team”. This will be necessary step to take before setting up the new data logger.
Additional Resources:
We appreciate your patience as we work through each tiers set-up over the next three months. Thank you for everyone's time and effort in implementing the new data loggers.
Ensure your VIS sheets are up to date. CDC recently posted revisions of 17 VISs, dated January 31, 2025, on its Current VISs web page. The revisions comply with the January 20, 2025, Presidential Executive Order. Users will also note that the VISs have a new CDC logo.
You can use Immunize.org’s clinical resources (created in 2024) with our own QR code links to VISs. These codes will always take you to the current CDC VIS:
|
